York, PA vs Virginia Beach, VA
Moving from York to Virginia Beach? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($309,967 → $373,678 median home) and taxes.
York vs Virginia Beach at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in York, PA, you'd need about $100,655 in Virginia Beach, VA (+$655).
Livability — York, PA: 66 · Virginia Beach, VA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,823 sqft in York vs 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach ($177 vs $187 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | York, PA | Virginia Beach, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,608 | $22,344 | +$5,736 |
| Groceries | $4,915 | $4,853 | −$62 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,080 | −$360 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,872 | −$444 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,500 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $9,160 | $10,303 | +$1,143 |
| Total | $37,639 | $43,952 | +$6,313 |
Side by side
| Metric | York, PA | Virginia Beach, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.1 | 97.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.60% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.4% | 4.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 41 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.56 |
| Median home price | $309,967 | $373,678 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.6% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $177 | $187 |
| Median rent | $1,384 | $1,862 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 12.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 5.73% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 1.75% | 0.86% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 3.97% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 28 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |